• Vienna Institute of Demography (Ed.) - Éva Beaujouan - Marie-Caroline Compans - Alice Goisis - Jasmin Passet-Wittig (Guest Eds.)

Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 2026

Special issue: Delayed reproduction

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The Vienna Yearbook of Population Research is an open access journal that features contributions addressing population trends as well as a broad range of theoretical and methodological issues in population research. Besides Research articles and Review articles, the journal includes Data and Trends contributions, which analyse changes in population dynamics or present databases and data infrastructure. It also features Perspectives articles, which focus on ideas, concepts or theories, as well as invited Debates reflecting on selected questions and issues. Since 2008, the volumes have been devoted to selected themes following special calls for thematic issues.

The 2026 volume of the Vienna Yearbook of Population Research brings together a diverse set of contributions examining delayed reproduction as a defining feature of contemporary demographic change. The papers explore how later transitions to parenthood reshape reproductive trajectories, fertility intentions and birth outcomes for individuals and societies. Particular emphasis is placed on heterogeneities and inequalities by educational background, migration status, and place of residence. Using both quantitative and qualitative approaches and drawing on data from Europe, the Americas, and Asia, the issue highlights that delayed reproduction is a lasting trend with significant consequences for future fertility and societies more broadly.

Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
Austrian Academy of Sciences Press
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Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 2026
ISSN 1728-4414
Print Edition
ISSN 1728-5305
Online Edition
ISBN 978-3-7001-5156-2
Print Edition
ISBN 978-3-7001-5157-9
Online Edition



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Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften
Austrian Academy of Sciences Press
A-1011 Wien, Dr. Ignaz Seipel-Platz 2,
Tel. +43-1-515 81/DW 3420, Fax +43-1-515 81/DW 3400
https://verlag.oeaw.ac.at, e-mail: bestellung.verlag@oeaw.ac.at
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Postponement or limitation? Mechanisms of reproductive intentions in Mexico City’s lowest-low fertility context

    Nathaly Llanes-Díaz, Víctor M. García-Guerrero, Paula Martes-Camargo

Vienna Yearbook of Population Research 2026, pp. , 2026/08/05

Special issue: Delayed reproduction

doi: 10.1553/p-e9c3-f87p


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doi:10.1553/p-e9c3-f87p


Abstract

This study examines the mechanisms shaping reproductive intentions in Mexico City, a distinctive lowest-low fertility context characterised by fertility limitation without systematic postponement. As a critical case combining very low fertility (quantum) with stable timing (tempo), it challenges conventional demographic accounts that inherently link fertility decline to postponement. Based on 26 semi-structured in-depth interviews with nulliparous and parity-one women aged 25–49, this qualitative research explores how these mechanisms are associated with intentions to postpone or limit childbearing; how these orientations are interrelated; and under what circumstances sustained postponement becomes associated with the intention to limit childbearing. The findings identify four mechanisms: individualism and self-fulfilment; structural uncertainty; parenting and care; and partner dynamics.While the intention to postpone childbearing is heavily driven by individualism and self-fulfilment, the decision to limit reproduction is largely driven by the contemporary crisis of parenting and care. Partner dynamics and structural uncertainty operate transversally across the two orientations. This study demonstrates the inherent dynamism of women’s reproductive intentions, which are frequently marked by ambivalence and periods of indecision across the life course.

Keywords: Reproductive intentions • Postponement and limitation • Lowest-low fertility • Qualitative methods • Mexico City